The Emperor's Blades (Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne Book 1)

Product Information

Your James Bond stand- in is captured by the enemy. He is ruthlessly tortured and raped until he manages to escape. He swears vengeance. He will bring forth unholy terror on the people who hurt him. But to succeed he will need the help of a sexy female friend. Can he learn to love again? Can he trust her to touch his body with kindness after suffering with this isolating trauma for so long? To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne when I started reading it. The series has gorgeous cover arts (both US & UK editions), and I’ve heard some terrific praises from my trusted friends on Goodreads. That was enough to make me enthusiastic about the trilogy, and it suffices to say that The Emperor’s Blades, Brian Staveley’s debut, managed to meet my expectation superbly. Staveley used to teach history, religion, and philosophy for ten years before writing this debut novel, and it’s evident from the narrative that Staveley knows his material strongly before he implemented them. Such obstacles should allow his intelligence, his ability to strategize, the "leadership" potential we keep hearing about shine . . . BUT. Instead, he seems emotional and prone to drawing rash conclusions. tempted by the bright green eyes and flaming red hair, by the supple, curvaceous body that she did her best to hide…” As for the villains, they are numerous and unexpected. No all powerful and completely obvious Sauron-like caricatures here. Nope, each of our young stars deal with their own very different enemies. Whether that be arrogant fellow cadets for Valyn or mysterious creatures for Kaden or powerful high priests for Adare, Mr. Staveley crafts each one differently, shading them in unique ways, so that our Blades are never confronted with the same situation as their sibling a few chapters before. And when the conclusion to the novel finally rolls around, the unveiling of exactly who and what the real villains are and what they are doing might just surprise you.

Agenir• Alberto Saluzzo• Ben• Bernardo Bellone• Danbrown Leopardi• Demetri Certaldo• Giovanna Rossati• Rubio• Signora Sicilia• Wallach• Zaaro

It is the hardest thing to write a review for a book you absolutely love. There is no way that I can get across how marveled by this story I am. The Emperor’s Blades is probably the best new High Fantasy book of the year. Okay so it’s only January but I’m just going to say that the bar has been set extremely high and I unless George RR Martin’s Winds of Winter the 6th book of the A Song of Ice and Fire makes it out this year (highly unlikely) then Brian Staveley’s debut novel might hold this spot in my head and heart all year. I couldn’t believe that this is a debut novel, I’m floored by the depth of the story and this is just the beginning. Brian Staveley will, in all probability, just improve as time goes on and I can’t wait to read anything else he writes. It is no coincidence that the MRA movement evolved out of the gaming community. There is a reason women read and write “feminist” fiction. If you’ve never read Herbert’s 1965 novel or any of the Dune sequels, trust us, the Sardaukar are so much worse than you realize. How Sardaukar Are Made Alfonso • Amaia • Carmen • Garcia • The Endspeaker • The Last Knight • Rocinante • Thiago • Ulpianus

Maybe this is what they want us to learn, he thought to himself blearily. There are two worlds, one of life and one of darkness, and you cannot inhabit both. It seemed like a good lesson for a Kettral, a lesson that could never be learned on the earth itself, not in a thousand days of swordplay and barrel drops, the kind of lesson that had to be bleached into the bone. At the end of the Chernobog- Lungmen crisis, an Emperor's Blade who supervised the Third Army during the crisis planned to carry out Kashchey's plan but was immediately stopped by a Shadow Guard. The Guard responded to the Blade using the language of the now-defunct Gaul, which infuriated the Blade, declaring that the age of Gaul was already over. The Blade refused the Guard's offer to serve Yan. In disappointment, the Guard lamented that there was no inner peace within the Blade's spirit and that Ursus would in time meet its downfall. Before their departure, they promised to one another that they would meet again somewhere in the future. [5] Intermezzi A Walk in the Dust Lin was not a real person. Every decision she made aimed at pushing Valyn along his path to character growth. Consider that in one scene she ruthlessly kills a girl to teach Valyn the importance of recognizing the greater good. A few scenes later she teaches him the importance of compassion. Lin loses her temper, which leads him to play the hero and also teaches him the lesson that he should not let his emotions rule him. It also helps inspire sympathy in the reader for Valyn and increases our desire to see him succeed over the assholes. Kaden—at 17 years old—is the youngest son, and also the Heir to the Unhewn Throne, of the Emperor sent away to train with the Shin monks in the mountains. Frankly speaking, this marked the first time I read a monk main character’s POV in a fantasy novel, and I found it to be such a refreshing experience. It’s often encountered in a high-fantasy novel that the heir to the throne will either be someone well-learned in politics or skillful in combats, usually accompanied by a charismatic presence; Kaden is none of these. Kaden’s POV is where most of the religious philosophical discussion shines. The teaching of the monks seems to be inspired by Buddhism, but Staveley added a few twists to it, especially in their methods of training and punishments. However, above all, the Shin monks value discipline, calmness, and vaniate— a state of emptiness—the most. I highly enjoyed reading Kaden’s story in this volume, and I have a feeling he will shine further in the sequel.Staveley lives in Vermont, and is married. He taught literature, philosophy, history, and religion before beginning to write fiction. [1] Work [ edit ] The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne [ edit ]